Meet the Career Innovation Faculty Fellows

2026-27 Career Innovation Faculty Fellow

What inspires you to integrate career development into your course curriculum?

As a faculty member in the Department of Biology, I work with many students interested in health-related careers, especially medicine. My involvement as a pilot faculty member for the Arts & Sciences’ Literacies for Life and Career initiative helped me appreciate the university’s commitment to preparing students for their futures. This experience emphasized the importance of connecting classroom learning with the skills students will need after graduation. While many students come in with a clear idea of becoming doctors, I also strive to expand their awareness of the various careers available in public health, healthcare, and the life sciences in general. As a Career Innovations Faculty Fellow, I hope to practice integrating career development into my courses to help students build valuable skills while also allowing them to explore paths they might not have considered before.

Maggie’s Assignment

I will focus on my upper-level Parasitology course, which mainly includes juniors and seniors interested in public health and health professions. In this course, students will work in teams to address a simulated parasite outbreak scenario. Each student will take on a professional role, such as epidemiologist, infectious disease physician, health educator, or public health communicator, based on a survey designed to place them in a role they may not have thought about before. During the project, teams will investigate the outbreak, create response strategies, and think about how professionals from different fields help manage public health crises. I also hope to arrange for students to connect with professionals in their assigned roles to gain firsthand insight into those careers and their duties. At the end of the semester, teams will present their findings and proposed response plans to the class. Lastly, students will reflect on how these experiences relate to their career growth and practice communicating the skills they developed in ways that will help them in future interviews, applications, and career exploration. This assignment aims to improve key career skills, including teamwork, critical thinking, problem-solving, data interpretation, and science communication. Just as importantly, it encourages students to consider a wider range of career options while applying course concepts in a realistic and engaging fashion.

2025-26 Career Innovation Faculty Fellow

What inspires you to integrate career development into your course curriculum?

As a professor, I am the alternative career – 6 of 7 life science PhDs are not faculty at R1 universities but much of current graduate student training does not reflect this reality. PhD programs need to better educate and prepare students for diverse career paths.

Research is the core of graduate training but having students investigate career options earlier in their training gives them time to prepare for what comes after the thesis defense (or postdoc). My background and career include time in the biotech industry.

Having seen first-hand how different career skills and mindsets are needed, my goal is to share those experiences. Partnering with the CCE and helping students see their options offers a way to broaden their understanding of what comes after graduate school.

2025-26 Career Innovation Faculty Fellow

Ragini’s Assignment:

Students in Ragini’s Public Health Seminar II course are simultaneously navigating the interview process in preparation for practicum in the upcoming summer semester. The career assignment she developed gives students the opportunity to investigate various potential career pathways in both non-profit and for-profit sectors and to construct a tailored cover letter draft articulating their leadership philosophy and approach to public health challenges, which they can use as a template going forward as they actively apply.

2025-26 Career Innovation Faculty Fellow

Heather’s Assignment

In her Literary Journalism course, she teaches her students to develop strong research skills, including preparing for and conducting interviews. Her career assignment asks students to leverage these skills to conduct an interview with someone of professional interest, producing a profile piece while simultaneously learning about a career path of interest and building a new professional relationship.

2025-26 Career Innovation Faculty Fellow

What inspires you to integrate career development into your course curriculum?

Art History doesn’t immediately come to mind as a practical, career-focused major. Many employers are seeking the skills in qualitative analysis, written and oral communication, and visual literacy that we build organically in our field. Art is intimately connected to political movements and reflects our deepest societal values.

My goal is to show students how Art History provides valuable skills for a variety of future careers. My “New Media” class emphasizes written and oral communication and teamwork, and builds familiarity with technologies for online engagement. This course gives students the chance to curate for themselves and explore how visual material translates social issues.

As a Senior Lecturer in Energy, Environmental & Chemical Engineering, I have dedicated my career to developing successful young engineers. I am a Professional Engineer (Environmental, TN) and always encourage students to pursue professional licensure which is critical to success in certain engineering fields.

When students take classes with me, I frequently hear about their career searches. While students view college as a pathway to robust careers, many struggle knowing how and where to search for opportunities, how to engage with employers, and how to accept or negotiate offers. The wide variety of student interest and experience within an engineering field means we see students looking for internships, research opportunities, graduate schools, and full-time careers.

My goal is to work in partnership with the CCE to bring career development experience to engineering students directly within their courses. Students with early exposure to career development, internships, and research experience typically have a better chance of securing full-time positions by graduation. I want to see all of my students leaving WashU with careers, confidence, and skills they can be proud of.

Kristen’s Assignment

Students in Kristen’s Environmental Engineering Capstone course have historically participated in an environmental design contest where they interact with judges from sponsoring firms. Her assignment asks students to prepare for the event with structured peer resume reviews, research on company sponsors, and a plan for proactive engagement with other students and professionals at the event.